Description

The Colorado Trail (COT) is widely regarded as one of the very best long distance mountain bike trails in the world.

Running for 535 miles between Denver and Durango, the trail crosses high alpine mountain passes and drops into beautiful valleys as it traverses the most beautiful portions of the state of Colorado.

The COT forms one third of the Triple Crown of Bikepacking, along with the Arizona Trail and the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. From Tennessee Pass, the Colorado Trail runs for several miles before entering the Holy Cross Wilderness, where mountain bikes are currently banned.

However, the section of trail between Tennessee Pass and the Wilderness is very worth as an out-and-back ride.

The singletrack roughly follows a ridge, climbing and descending brief rises on buffed-out singletrack.

A few rocks punctuate the buff trail tread, keeping riders on their toes as the wind and dip through the pines. Toward the far end of this section, riders will encounter some seriously eroded sections of singletrack traversing extended rock gardens filled with babyheads. If riding this section as an out-and-back, turn around at the Wilderness boundary and return the way you came.

If through-riding the COT, turn left upon reaching Wurts Ditch Road to bypass around the Wilderness.